Munich, Germany – 23 June 2021 – The latest phone designs focus on solutions that allow a full-screen display and avoid the notch, punch-hole cameras, or bezels without compromising on quality or performance. Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) together with its Time-of-Flight (ToF) partner pmdtechnologies and the leading vision-based imaging specialist ArcSoft is developing a turnkey solution that allows a ToF camera to work under the display of commercial smartphones. It will provide reliable high-quality infrared images and 3D data for security-related applications like face authentication and mobile payment. The market for ToF solutions in smartphones is estimated to reach above 600 million sensor units in 2025 with a CAGR of around 32 percent from 2021 onward*. The new under-display solution will be available in the third quarter of 2021 and will be introduced during the MWC 2021 conference from June 28 to July 1.

“Time-of-Flight technology offers tremendous value for smartphones and in our daily lives by making electronic devices aware of the context in which we use them”, says Andreas Urschitz, Division President Power & Sensor Systems at Infineon. “In addition to our continuous technological achievements in terms of smaller size, reduced power consumption, and better 3D performance, our Artificial Intelligence-enabled and secure under-display solution will provide a display design beautification for smartphone manufacturers.”

“To build powerful Time-of-Flight cameras, you need to have a deep understanding of the 3D data and how applications make use of it. That is why we are working closely with middleware partners and OEMs to provide them with best-in-class ToF-algorithms, software, and high-quality 3D data to build their application on. The solution, which we are jointly developing with ArcSoft, allows our ToF cameras to see through displays while still meeting the requirements for secure face authentication in mobile phone unlockick and mobile payment”, adds Prof. Dr. Bernd Buxbaum, CEO at pmdtechnologies.

“The implementation of 3D ToF in mobile devices promises to spark the next wave of killer consumer applications, which is exactly why ArcSoft is excited to work with Infineon and pmdtechnologies”, says Sean Bi, COO of ArcSoft. “By deeply integrating ToF cameras with ArcSoft’s computer vision algorithms, under-display ToF can bring reliable facial recognition solutions and a superior full-screen experience to consumers. Relying on under-display ToF, ArcSoft will also enable more applications such as AR related, which mobile device manufacturers value when deployed in support of new and exciting mobile apps.”

The combination of high-end semiconductor technology, ToF expertise, and high-end algorithms of the three companies, will enable an easy design-in, turnkey solution for OEMs to offer its customers their favorite user facing applications in a modern smartphone design with a notch-less display.

Features of the new turnkey solution for ToF under-display

User facing ToF cameras are mostly used for face authentication and for photo enhancements. Infineon and pmdtechnologies are providing the most advanced and secure 3D ToF sensor solution for facial ID on several smartphone models. The latest facial ID solution, which will incorporate ArcSoft’s under-display camera package, allows overcoming display effects while reaching highest performance for secure face ID and image quality. The grey value and depth data quality of under-display images are as good as those obtained with traditional over-display concepts for critical applications like secure face ID.

(*) Source: Strategy Analytics

About pmdtechnologies

pmdtechnologies ag, a fabless IC company headquartered in Siegen, Dresden and Ulm/Germany with subsidiaries in the USA, China and Korea, is the worldwide leading 3D Time-of-Flight CMOS-based digital imaging technology supplier. Started up in 2002, the company owns over 400 worldwide patents concerning Time-of-Flight based applications, the PMD measurement principle and its realization. Addressed markets for pmd's 3D sensors systems and software are industrial automation, automotive and the wide field of consumer applications like smartphones, drones, and cleaning robots. Further information is available at www.pmdtec.com.

About ArcSoft

ArcSoft is a leading algorithm and software solution provider in related to the computer vision industry, serving OEM customers around the world, commercializing leading computer vision imaging technologies for enabling advances camera applications among smart phones, smart cars, smart homes, smart retail, Internet Video and other fields, and continue to explore new areas.

Normally deeply embedded in OEM customers’ devices, ArcSoft's software imaging solutions in the past two decades have been shipped with billions of volume in consumer hardware products markets, helping to improve the capture process, picture/video quality and users experience of mobile photography, enable specific visual features. Further information is available at www.arcsoft.com.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon are the key to a better future. In the 2020 fiscal year (ending 30 September), Infineon reported revenue of more than €8.5 billion with a workforce of some 46,700 people worldwide. Following the acquisition of the US Company Cypress Semiconductor Corporation in April 2020, Infineon is now a global top 10 semiconductor company.

Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

2021 Infrared Sensing Market Trend- 3D Sensing, LiDAR, SWIR LED
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